Georges Laraque worried tough guys being pushed out of the NHL

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Georges Laraque worried tough guys being pushed out of the NHL

But the veteran NHL tough guy is worried about his craft. "I know that within two years there won't be any fighters in the league anymore," Laraque said from Phoenix this week. "Within two years, I'm serious, because this is how it's going. More and more teams don't have fighters."

We think Georges is exaggerating things a little, but he's right in one respect: Fewer traditional enforcers are surviving in the NHL.

A rough count by CP lists only 11 NHL clubs who regularly dress tough guys, seven other teams who occasionally do, and 12 more who really haven't at all this season.

"I'm depressed about it because I sympathize with the guys who do my job," said Laraque. "Those are my brothers. I was lucky that it wasn't this way when I started nine years ago. If I lost my job tomorrow I could say I played a decade in the NHL. I've been fortunate. But the younger guys like (Ottawa's Brian) McGrattan, I feel bad for them. They may not have a job soon."

There's no denying the facts. The post-lockout NHL has seen fighting decrease. There were 267 fighting majors this season through Monday night (303 games), up slightly from last year's pace at 250, but down big time from the 429 through the same number of games in 2003-04.

There were 329 fighting majors through the same period in 2002-03 and 426 in 2001-02.

"Since Day 1 when hockey started there's been fighting," said San Jose Sharks tough guy Scott Parker. "It's the aggression and competitiveness that's always been part of the game. It's part of the reason people enjoy the sport."

Parker has dressed in only four games this season despite being healthy. He, too, shares Laraque's concern that fighting is leaving the game.

"They may start with fighting and then say no hitting, and then no touching at all," Parker said from San Jose. "Where will it end? We can't back down and let them take our jobs away from us."

The NHL came back from the lockout with drastic changes that made the game more wide-open and much faster - too fast, perhaps, for some of the tough guys.

"If you can't skate and play, you just stopped your team from having four lines," Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said Tuesday.

The Wings, as a result, don't have a traditional enforcer.

"The league's flying out there," Babcock said from Detroit. "And if you think you can play three lines, I think you're wrong. I myself could be wrong, but I don't think you can. I think your players all should be able to contribute."

Are the Wings worried when they face a opposing team with an enforcer? Not really.

Just ask Laraque, the NHL's most feared fighter.

"Teams are discovering that if you don't have a fighter, it doesn't matter," said Laraque. "If you play a team with a fighter, even though your team doesn't have one, does it matter? What's he going to do? Who's he going to fight?

"There's so many teams that don't have one, and next year there'll be even less."

Fellow tough guy Derek Boogaard of the Minnesota Wild agreed with Laraque that it's getting tougher but said tough guys simply need to keep up with the game.

"You might not have a job if you don't work on your skill," Boogaard said Tuesday from Minneapolis. "As long as you can keep up with the game with your skating then you'll be fine. . . .

"Guys are smarter now, they have to work on their skill level rather than just sit there and fight. As long as the guys have that in their heads, that they have to play and have the confidence that they can play, no, I don't think that'll be an issue at all."

Still, Laraque for pines for the good-old days.

"Look at the old days when (Bob) Probert and (Tie) Domi would fight," he said. "People would line up three hours before the game. They were so excited and would talk about it for days. It was crazy. Now we talk about revenue sharing and things like that. We're turning hockey into a ballet league."

Added Laraque: "That's what the league wants, they want to make this into a European league. They don't want any fighting. It will happen."

Dallas Stars head coach Dave Tippett says there's still fighting, it's just in a different form.

His team doesn't dress a traditional enforcer but has guys like Matthew Barnaby, Steve Ott, Trevor Daley, Eric Lindros and captain Brendan Morrow that can all drop the gloves if need be.

"I think we were tied for the most fighting majors in the league last year and we didn't really have a traditional tough guy," Tippett said from Dallas. "But we have a lot of players that play hard for each other and stick up for their teammates. . . .

"We have players that play with grit and are willing to do it," he added. "But any fight that's around our team I class as a hockey fight, not a heavyweight versus heavyweight."

And that seems to be the trend.

New Jersey's Cam Janssen is only six foot tall and 210 pounds but he leads the NHL with eight fighting majors. A better example of the perfect prototype for the new NHL is Ottawa Senators rugged winger Chris Neil, who can drop the gloves with the best of them but also has seven goals and six assists in 21 games.

"Right now, with the momentum changes in the game, with the way game flows, you get stretches of three to four minutes of continuous play . . . you can't afford to have somebody that cannot play within the flow of the game," said Tippett.

Laraque has always prided himself on becoming a better hockey player. He had a career-best 13 goals and 29 points with the Edmonton Oilers in 2000-01 and already has 10 points (4-6) in 19 games with the Coyotes this season.

"I've never focused on being a better fighter as much as being a better player," said Laraque. "I've always tried to work my ass off so that when I'm on the ice, even though I'm not fighting I can be a factor five on five and not a liability defensively.

"I take pride in the fact the coach can put me out there against any line and he doesn't have to worry."

Being called the NHL's most feared fighter does little for him, Laraque insisted.

"Frankly, when people talk about my reputation as being the toughest guy in the league, I always say that I don't care about that. I don't want that reputation. They can give it to whoever. Because the only place they give belts to is in wrestling or boxing.

"In the NHL, you can be the toughest guy in the league but if you can't put points on the board it doesn't matter, you'll be out of a job. It's not an honoured distinction being looked at as the toughest guy in the NHL."

The bottom line, says veteran Chris Simon, is that fighting will always be in the NHL but in a different form.

"The difference is that it's not guys fighting for no reason anymore," said the rugged New York Islanders winger. "If you need to give your team a boost or there's physical play in front of the net and guys get angry, that's basically how the fights are happening now.

"I think all the guys now can play a regular shift. They can play hockey and fight as well."

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It’s been another tough road back from a concussion, but Clarke MacArthur is inching closer to his return. Senators coach Guy Boucher confirmed MacArthur can take contact and said the 31-year-old looks better every day.

Just days ago Clarke MacArthur said he was targeting a return to the Ottawa Senators’ lineup in roughly one month, and he has taken a big step towards that goal by getting the go-ahead to resume contact in practices.

Ahead of Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, Senators coach Guy Boucher announced that MacArthur, 31, has been given the green light to start giving and receiving bodychecks in practice, and Boucher said Ottawa can’t wait to have the veteran winger back in the lineup.

“He’s such a big part of our team that it will obviously change a lot of what we do, power play, 5-on-5, penalty kill and leadership-wise,” Boucher said, via TSN 1200.

MacArthur has been on the shelf since the start of the season after suffering a concussion during a training camp scrimmage, which made for the fourth head injury he has had to deal with less than two years. Making matters all the more heartbreaking, though, was that the injury came as MacArthur was attempting to make his comeback to the lineup after missing all but four games in 2015-16 due to a concussion that was bad enough he had thoughts of retirement.

Despite the recent concussion, though, MacArthur said he intended on getting healthy and contributing to the team this season, and told the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch that one of the main reasons he wanted to get back to action was to fulfill his contract. The four games he played during the 2015-16 season have been his only action on his current five-year, $23.25-million deal. He signed the deal in August 2014.

There are positive signs for MacArthur beyond being cleared for contact, too. Boucher said Wednesday that MacArthur has looked better every day in both his physical capabilities and his demeanor. Boucher added it feels as if MacArthur could be cleared for his return any day.

“He looks so good out there, and he’s looked so good for a while now, but it’s really being smart and taking the right steps,” Boucher said. “Health is first…Now it’s just a matter of time before we get the OK, but we’re going to wait until it’s the right and we’re told that this is the right time in his mind, right time medically and the right time physically.”

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Power Rankings: Red-hot Blue Jackets still fighting for respect

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Power Rankings: Red-hot Blue Jackets still fighting for respect

The Blue Jackets have been the most pleasant surprise in the NHL this season, but it's still going to take convincing for the hockey world to believe they're for real.

We’ll totally understand if you’re having just a little trouble getting on board with the 2016-17 version of the Columbus Blue Jackets. After all, you’ve probably been burned before.

Their fan base certainly seems to be wary. Despite the fact the Blue Jackets are the surprise of the NHL and have emerged as one of the most dynamic and exciting teams in the league, they drawn fewer than 12,000 in three of their past four home games. Even their coach thinks the team has work to do to earn their fans’ trust. “I want our team to have a chip on their shoulder,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella told Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch recently. “I think they should. We’re trying to get respect in the league. Quite honestly, we should be disrespected because of where we’ve been.”

That won’t last long if the Blue Jackets keep this up. The league’s best power play continues to fuel one of the league’s hottest teams and has landed them at the top of thn.com’s weekly Power Rankings for the second time this season. Last week’s rankings in parentheses:

CREAM OF THE CROP

1. Columbus Blue Jackets (8)

2. Philadelphia Flyers (15)

3. Pittsburgh Penguins (6)

4. St. Louis Blues (2)

5. Chicago Blackhawks (5)

6. Montreal Canadiens (7)

7. New York Rangers (4)

8. San Jose Sharks (11)

9. Boston Bruins (20)

10. Calgary Flames (27)

Is there a bigger bargain or a shrewder off-season signing than Sam Gagner?...Steve Mason went from one of the worst goalies in the NHL early in the season to one of the best of late. His save percentage in his first 16 games was .892, but has improved to .947 in his past five… If Marc-Andre Fleury wants to get traded, he’s not doing himself any favor with his play lately…The Blues completed a 4-0-1 home stand with the game going into overtime…With Jonathan Toews and Corey Crawford already out, the Blackhawks lost defenseman Brent Seabrook in their 4-0 win over Arizona Tuesday night…How will the Canadiens and the surprising Alexander Radulov respond to the injury to Alex Galchenyuk?...The injury-ravaged Rangers saw Rick Nash go down with a groin injury and Matt Puempel to a concussion in their 4-2 loss to the Islanders Tuesday night…Joe Thornton passed Brendan Shanahan for 25th all-time on the NHL’s scoring list with an assist in a 2-1 win over Montreal last week…Anyone who predicted David Pastrnak would be in Rocket Richard Trophy contention a third of the way into the season is looking very bright at the moment…The Flames were already one of the hottest teams in the NHL without Johnny Gaudreau, then won their first two with him back in the lineup.

THE MUSHY MIDDLE

11. Washington Capitals (11)

12. Edmonton Oilers (14)

13. Ottawa Senators (12)

14. Los Angeles Kings (1)

15. New Jersey Devils (23)

16. Detroit Red Wings (16)

17. Nashville Predators (3)

18. Minnesota Wild (19)

19. Anaheim Ducks (10)

20. Winnipeg Jets (17)

Capitals coach Barry Trotz had some pointed words to Alex Ovechkin about his penchant for taking minor penalties of late. No cracks in the foundation, though. Just a frank discussion…The Oilers game Tuesday night against Buffalo was touted as Connor McDavid vs. Jack Eichel, the kind of narrative the Oilers have learned to accept. “Every night it’s Connor vs. Somebody,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan…Goalie Craig Anderson started in the Senators’ 8-5 loss to Pittsburgh Monday night, but did not travel with the team for a three-game California trip to be with his wife as she undergoes treatment for throat cancer…The usually stingy Kings have given up 11 goals in their past three games. “That’s too many goals,” said Kings coach Darryl Sutter…Devils winger Taylor Hall on the aftermath of his clean, but devastating, hit on Philip Larsen Tuesday night: “I feel terrible.” Not to be trite, but Hall should not be feeling terrible about the way he has played since returning from a knee injury. He has five points in his past two games…Goalie Jimmy Howard will be back in uniform for the Red Wings when they host Columbus Friday night, but will have a difficult time pushing Petr Mrazek out of the crease…After missing four games with an upper-body injury, James Neal scored a goal in a 4-3 Predators’ win over Colorado Tuesday night…Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, whose career was revived when he came to Minnesota, will make his 300th career start tonight in Toronto…Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle could not pull Jonathan Bernier during his team’s 8-3 loss to Calgary because backup John Gibson was battling a stomach virus…Over the past 30 years, only Teemu Selanne and Alex Ovechkin have scored goals at a better pace than Patrik Laine of the Jets is scoring them now.

VYING FOR THE PARTICIPATION BADGE

21. New York Islanders (26)

22. Tampa Bay Lightning (22)

23. Carolina Hurricanes (25)

24. Buffalo Sabres (29)

25. Florida Panthers (24)

26. Vancouver Canucks (18)

27. Toronto Maple Leafs (13)

28. Dallas Stars (28)

29. Arizona Coyotes (21)

30. Colorado Avalanche (30)

With points in each of their past five games, four of them wins, the Islanders are easily on their most successful string of the season…The Lightning could get Ryan Callahan, Jason Garrison and Jonathan Drouin back for their home game against Vancouver Thursday night…Jordan Staal, sidelined for the past four games with a concussion, likely won’t be available to the Hurricanes for a three-game road trip through California that begins tonight…After playing almost 500 games in the minors, defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer made his NHL debut in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime win over Washington Tuesday night… Panthers have gone to overtime in four of their five games GM Tom Rowe has been behind the bench. They’ve won one in overtime, lost two in OT and one in a shootout…Philip Larsen, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a hit from Taylor Hall Tuesday night, was released from hospital in New Jersey Wednesday morning and was cleared to return to Vancouver while the Canucks continue on a five-game road trip…After waiving Jhonas Enroth, the Maple Leafs search for a backup goalie continues. They signed Karri Ramo to a professional tryout contract and assigned him to their farm team. That should cure everything…The Coyotes have been outscored 14-6 and have averaged 41 shots against per game in an 0-3-1 month of December…All nine of Matt Duchene’s goals this season have come on the road. The Avs could use that kind of production at the Pepsi Center, where they’re 4-8-1 this season and recently went 0-4-1 on a five-game homestand.

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Coyotes’ Cunningham alert, awake and joking with teammates, but remains in hospital

There’s still no word as to what exactly caused Coyotes AHL captain Craig Cunningham to collapse on ice, but the 26-year-old was in contact with teammates and cracking jokes earlier this week.

More than two weeks after collapsing on the ice ahead of an AHL game between the Coyotes and Jets AHL affiliates, news has come that Craig Cunningham is starting to get back to his old self.

According to Tucson’s KVOA, Cunningham spoke with two teammates, Brandon Burlon and Christian Fisher, via FaceTime earlier this week, and both said that things are starting to look up for the 26-year-old Cunningham.

Fisher added that it was nice to see Cunningham, the captain of the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners, smiling again. But he wasn’t just smiling, he was also trying to have a good time with his teammates while hinting that he wants to get back on the ice.

“He was cracking jokes just as if he were here the next day," Fisher told KVOA. "It was pretty funny. He said he wanted us to come pick him up and take him to the rink. He was joking around. Stuff like that.”

The mystery still remains as to what caused Cunningham’s collapse, however. It came just moments before the game was set to start and resulted in medical staff in the building cutting away his equipment in order to attend to him. Cunningham ended up leaving the ice on a stretcher, was transported to hospital and he remained in critical but stable condition for much of the past two weeks.

Still, though, Burlon and Fisher said that there’s no “definitive answer” as to what caused Cunningham’s medical emergency. That’s more than all right with both players, too, so long as Cunningham’s health is starting to look up.

"What we do know is that he is doing well and we are moving forward here," Fisher told KVOA. "Hopefully, he will start the road to recovery now.”

Cunningham has suited up for 319 AHL games over the course of his career, netting 101 goals and 203 points, as well as scoring an additional three goals and eight points in 63 NHL games. He was drafted 97th overall by the Bruins in 2010, but was picked up by Arizona off waivers from Boston during the 2014-15 season.

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Philip Larsen got knocked unconscious, the Canucks retailiated without knowing what happened, and they could have hurt their teammate even worse in the process.

The incident was horrific. We can all agree on that.

Tuesday night in New Jersey, Vancouver Canucks blueliner Philip Larsen skated behind his net to retrieve a puck. He had no idea Devils left winger Taylor Hall was pursuing the same puck. They collided heavily. Larsen bashed his head on the ice and was knocked out cold.

It was a scary scene, undoubtedly, one that understandably evoked a ton of emotion from Larsen's teammates. It was hardly a surprise to see a flurry of Vancouver players swarm Hall and make him fight.

It was a shame, however, for multiple reasons. First off, the hit wasn't dirty. It wasn't even a deliberate bodycheck. Hall leaned back on his skates to slow his momentum and held out his arms as if protecting himself from imminent impact. It was more of a crash than a bonecrushing hit. We can debate whether Larsen's head was the principal point of contact – I don't believe it was at all – but it's irrelevant when assessing Hall's guilt. There was no intent there. He won't be disciplined by the NHL for an accident.

And yet, thanks to the sport's culture of immediate and forceful vengeance, Hall had to fight anyway. In the spur of the moment, in the heat of elite competition, players are simply too jacked up to take a breath and assess the situation. They see a comrade fall and, in mere milliseconds, seek and destroy whoever caused the harm.

“You always have a problem with a hit when one of your guys gets hit hard," Canucks coach Willie Desjardins told the Vancouver Province's Jason Botchford after the the game. "It doesn’t matter if it’s a clean hit. You have a problem when a guy gets hit that hard. I think all coaches would.”

The ironic thing about this tough-guy mentality is that it could end up pushing one of the toughest things about hockey out of the game: good, clean hits. If the swarm mentality goes on much longer, the only guys willing to lay opponents out with big hits will be those ready and willing to drop the gloves right afterward. Sooner or later players might decide it's not worth sitting five minutes and/or risking injury just to put a lick on a guy. And, in Hall's case, he wasn't even trying to drill Larsen.

Will we ever stop seeing players attacked after clean hits? I doubt it. The revenge assault is a crime of passion, a snap decision. But maybe, just maybe, the Canucks and players all over the world can learn a bit from what happened right after Larsen got hit. Watch:

The first instinct, sadly, is not to help Larsen, but to destroy Hall. Center Michael Chaput immediately starts a fight. That causes a pileup of players from both teams – all around the unconscious Larsen. It's downright disturbing to see him getting kicked in the head by his own teammates’ skates. Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom tries to box out Larsen and keep him safe. Markus Granlund tries as well but has to step over and onto Larsen in the process. It’s a miracle Larsen wasn’t cut. None of that would've happened had Chaput thought of Larsen first.

The ugly scene is a reminder that, right after a teammate takes a massive hit, the first priority should be to protect him. The best way to do that isn't to attack his attacker. It's to attend to the teammate first. There's plenty of time to review what happened and take down the perpetrator's number for later in the game. That's what jumbo-tron replays are for. And, in cases like Hall's, the violence would be averted altogether if players watched the replay and realized it was an accident.

Sadly, the idea is a pipe dream, and I don’t expect players to learn from Larsen's fate anytime soon. But we can always hope.